Fun Fact: I used to be a cheerleader at university
Badé Obasa: Tell us a bit about yourself
Bukiie Smart: My name is Bukiie Smart (yes, really!) and I'm a multi-passionate millennial woman. That means that I'm passionate of a LOT of things - from travel, to personal finance, to cooking, to business and tech and property development!
BO: So, how do you ensure you become your best self and live an authentic life across all areas of your life?
BS: I'll break it down in two. Becoming your best self for me means striving to be the highest and best version of yourself. We all have our 'dream' life but often we don't think about our 'dream' self. If you could be on Level 10 in every area of your life, how does that look like - who is that person? That for me means working on multiple projects that I'm passionate about and committed to as that allows me to fulfill a big part of my purpose, it also means being financially independent, serving the under-served and having opportunities to give back, traveling often and spending quality time with the people I care about the most. 'Living your authentic life' for me is being genuine, with everything from your words to your actions to your social media and anywhere that has your footprint on it. It means being real and saying things as it is, or as you want it to be. It also means being transparent and vulnerable (which is no easy feat!) and sharing openly and honestly, things that matter to you.
BO: Talking about being transparent. As the founder of Save Spend Invest, I believe you have experienced some ups and downs to get to where you are right now. Share one of the toughest challenges you (are overcoming) overcame in your journey as a finance author/speaker/podcast host. What practical steps did you take (are you taking) to overcome it?
BS: One of the toughest challenges, which is also ongoing, is imposter syndrome. I think being 'young' and having people say 'OMG I can't believe you're doing all of this and you 'know' so much about such an important topic' puts a lot of pressure (mostly internally) on me. Because I'm a creative person, I'm always looking for new things to create and finding new good and God ideas around. Even with that, whenever I'm stepping out to do something new or different, it's like 'who do you think you are?' and insecurities about 'lack of experience' or 'being too young' creep up. In terms of practical steps, I'm a huge self motivator and one of my favourite quotes is 'feel the fear and do it anyway' and so I always end up going for whatever I want. It's liberating and it definitely shuts up all my insecurities. Doing that time and time again, it gets easier to launch or start whatever next thing God has given me!
BO: We both (now) know it is important to invest in, care for and stay in touch with our minds, emotions and bodies. How do you identify when you are tired/stressed/overwhelmed/anxious? What activities do you engage in to maintain holistic (mental, physical, emotional and spiritual) harmony?
BS: My body is such a natural communicator and these days I learn how to listen to it more intently. Whenever I am tired/stressed/overwhelmed/anxious, my body gives me a signal - or several - to slow down, pause, sometimes cry, to sleep, rest and also get some water and fresh air. It might also say its time for my next holiday, or just a visit to the spa! Doing something as 'simple' as getting fresh air and drinking water does so much more than I'd have thought. To maintain holistic balance, I read a lot as it helps calm my ever wandering mind, I journal, meditate and pray. When I can, I try to also get some exercise at least 3 times a week. I try to do all of that early in the morning as it usually sets my day but when life takes over sometimes, I find getting away (either from social media, or traveling) does wonders restoring my balance.
BO: As a multi-passionate millennial woman, there’s so much pressure to “overproduce” in our generation. What advice would you give to millennials to help us stay content with what we have, use the skills/resources within our reach to grow and maintain our lane of grace.
BS: Whew, I could write a book on this! I think we've swapped grace for hustle in our generation and it's mostly do with what we see around us. Society is always pushing us for more of something, and a lot of the time we over extend ourselves just to meet those ridiculous demands. I'm all for pushing yourself, but I've learnt that sometimes when you stop hustling and allow grace to take over, you have nearly double fold what your own efforts could've gotten you. Perspective is important in order for you to be able to slow down, so I'd say everyone should get some of that. Think about what matters to you in life - like really matters. Money doesn't really matter to me, for example, what matters is having the freedom to live the life I was called to without [financial] restrictions. Money is a means to an end. For some people, it's family and maintaining relationships that's important to them - so then why are you always on social media rather than having in person interactions - I would say to them. It's also important to have a gratitude journal and I've found that this keeps me on check whenever I think of running ahead of God or think I'm not doing enough. When you do all these things, you'll start aligning your natural and nurtured skills and resources to do the thing(s) you've been called to do. Trusting God is probably my number 1 recommendation though, because when all is said and done, if you trust God and believe in the plans He has for your life, you'll be very content in your own lane, no matter the pace you go
Core Values: Excellence and Passion
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To stay connected with Bukiie, follow her personal pages on Twitter and Instagram. Follow her rental fashion business to rent your dream closet. If you want practical steps on how to make better money decisions, follow savespendinvest and check out the SSI podcast. Plus, you can invest in your financial journey by getting her book using this link below ;)